Your first question has different answers depending on what role you are in - developers and dba would love SQL Server to be running with low CPU, budget holders would...

I've never tried exactly what you're after, so my solution is a bit round-a-bout, there's probably a better SQL Agent solution.  However, can you set a flag on a table...

Hi TK,

Yes, as I said, even for exactly the same databases, differences in the data in those identical tables can lead to different query plans.  You said that one database...

Both query plans are correct!  The query plan takes into account the distribution of data within the table(s) used in a query, so the amount of data and also the...

If you're using anything above the workgroup edition, you can use SSIS (DTS as was) to transfer databases.  Otherwise backup/restore works well.  You'll have to change you connection strings in...

The SqlClient classes will perform better against a SQL Server database than the more generic OleDb ones.  They're generally a direct replament; you can pretty much do a global search...

I'd expect there to be some benefit, but impossible to know without checking the execution plans for both versions, i.e. with AcctManager in the key and without.  I'd remove AcctManager...

There will be a unique index on the AccountData table containing the AcctNo and AcctManager fields.  If the AcctNo field comes first in the index, it won't be optimal for...

If you didn't want to go down the XML route, instead of having twenty (or however many) generalized fields on one table, which may or may not be used for any...

I had no problems doing exactly that with SQL2K5.  When you're creating the configuration databases, just select the appropriate database server.  When running reports, you have full control over which...

Can you post the script (or at least the relevant bits of it)?  Are you running on SQL2K or SQL2K5?

If the user is only ever one of staff, manager, admin etc , case statements or something like a single employee type id would be the best solutions.  If the...

DECLARE @SpreadSelect as int

SELECT @SpreadSelect = 0

SELECT AcctNo

FROM _FinalFlat

WHERE (@SpreadSelect = 0 AND SpreadFile in (1, 9))

OR (@SpreadSelect <> 0 AND SpreadFile in (2,0))

I'd check the execution plan to see whether my or...

You're misrepresenting the facts slightly there.  There's a difference between 'not supported' and 'never got the whole framework going', and an even bigger difference to 'You cannot take full advantage...

You could try rebuilding the indexes on the affected tables - your stats could be wrong and misleading the query optimizer.  You could also try re-writing the query to use...